The royally-bred colt was not a traditional early talent like many top US trotters. Only at 4 was Peter the Brewer ready to compete at a high level, but then he became an elite trotter in no time and was seen as a likely candidate to be one of the first 2:00 trotters.
Read MoreHanover Shoe Farms
The horse who wasn’t allowed to time trial
Having won the Hambletonian twice, in 1930 with Hanover’s Bertha and 1937 with Shirley Hanover, the Hanover Shoe...
Read MoreThe first three-year-old to beat 2:00
His whole life is spectacular. He was the best trotter in his generation, even though his trainer was skeptical and at 2 felt the...
Read MoreThe speed demon
He had been a really good trotter in Europe and moved with his trainer to the US. At first some questioned if an 8-year-old...
Read MoreThe cream who rose to the top
A very good trotter and world champion, he was initially deemed not good to stand stud at Hanover Shoe Farms and sold to Europe...
Read MoreThe American hero in Moscow
He was the tiny American with a heart of gold who became a star in the Soviet Union. The pioneering trio of Apex Hanover, Bill...
Read MoreThe first pride of Hanover
He was the world’s first 1:56 trotter and a prized possession of Lawrence Sheppard’s fledging Hanover Shoe Farms...
Read MoreHe won one of the most prestigious races of all time, then retired to become an elite stallion. His performances in Europe in 1988 are still occasionally talked about by Scandinavian trotting fans who all agree on one thing: there was something really special about Sugarcane Hanover.
Read MoreBeing first usually carries prestige and being the first Hambletonian winner carries a certain immortality to it. The massive $73,451.32 purse – more than five times the 1926 Kentucky Futurity purse ($14,000) – attracted 14 hopefuls to the mile track in Syracuse. While Hazleton was the pre-season favorite, Guy McKinney was not considered to have much of a chance. A new trainer turned the colt around, however and Guy McKinney went on to have a great three-year-old season.
Read MoreHe had a fantastic pedigree and came off a two-year-old season in which he set a world record. That did not prompt the owner to keep him: given that Calumet Farm was converting to a thoroughbred operation, the colt was put up for auction at the end of that season. Not surprisingly, Calumet Chuck became the most expensive sale at the auction. However, his three-year-old season was winless and full of frustration – but he got some revenge at stud.
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